The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu came to a ship brokerage company in Hong Kong together, and a foreign manager named Davis received them.

Davis is a bearded, burly foreigner. When he saw that Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu were both relatively young, his expression suddenly changed. He said arrogantly: "You two want to buy a ship? Please note that the shipping industry It’s a dangerous industry, if you don’t do it right, you will lose your last shirt.”

Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu were both stunned, thinking that there are still people doing business like this?

These foreigners are so damn arrogant, how much they look down on the Chinese!

In fact, Davis was also mentally evaluating Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu - young people, are they here to have fun?

Especially Lin Zhichao, who looked to be in his early 20s, and Davis had already made a preconception that the two of them might not be able to afford a boat.

"The shipping industry is indeed very risky, but doing business is not gambling. We will not do anything we are not sure of. Mr. Davis, do you have a ship here?" Lin Zhichao said calmly.

Getting angry and slamming the door out obviously won't help, but it will only result in being humiliated in vain.

Davis immediately looked up and down Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu. After discovering that they were well-dressed and calm in character, his impression improved slightly.

But the next words immediately left Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu speechless.

"The investment in the shipping industry is quite large, how much capital do you have?"

Lin Zhichao could only say frankly: "Mr. Davis, are there any thousand-ton cargo ships here? Do we need such second-hand ship information?"

Let's make it clear directly to avoid further nonsense. Lin Zhichao will not promise his great ambitions in front of an unknown person, because Davis is not worthy of him!

Davis's performance also made Lin Zhichao feel deeply in his heart that foreigners in this era are really arrogant, and a small ship brokerage company actually does business like this.

So, did those Chinese customers in the front succumb to Davis?

Davis was stunned. He didn't expect Lin Zhichao to be so ambitious. He seemed different from his previous Chinese clients. However, he didn't think Lin Zhichao was a talent. On the contrary, he now thought that Lin Zhichao was a fool. The Chinese didn't say 'harmony makes money' Well?

Based on his impatient attitude just now, Davis was certain that Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu were rookies who had just entered the shipping industry.

After thinking for a moment, Davis said: "Looking at your appearance, you are indeed sincere in purchasing ships and are confident in shipping. I happen to have information on a second-hand cargo ship here. This ship is 1,200 tons. It was built during World War II. It is a very new second-hand ship." It has many advantages and only costs 1.1 million Hong Kong dollars, which is very cheap.”

As he spoke, he found a stack of information from the cabinet and handed it to Lin Zhichao and the two of them.

Lin Zhichao took the stack of printed materials and found that it listed three major advantages of this ship:

1. The hull is made of high-quality steel plates and manufactured using advanced welding technology. Compared with ships using rivets, it is stronger and lighter.

2. Using turbines is more energy-saving and the ship speed is faster.

3. The cabin is spacious and the capacity is larger than other similar ships made in Britain.

Soon, Lin Zhichao discovered that Davis was hopeless. He bullied Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu, who were novices in shipping, and treated them as idiots.

"Manager Davis, if it was really a high-quality ship built in World War II, it would never cost only HK$1.1 million. At the same time, there were almost no high-quality ships built in World War II. Most of them were built to rush work and had poor welding skills; or, perhaps, experience The hull has been damaged in the baptism of war. It seems that you are not sincere in doing our business! Assuming that our brothers buy this ship, they are giving you money directly! "

Davis was stunned. He did not expect Lin Zhichao to be so sophisticated. This ship was indeed entrusted to him by the shipowner. He specifically told him that if it could be sold, he would be given 250,000 Hong Kong dollars in brokerage fees alone.

Why are the shipowners so generous? It turns out that the ships built in Britain during World War II were made of steel plate welding, but the welding technology was extremely poor and water often seeped out. After being baptized by the flames of war, the hulls were also dilapidated. Not to mention carrying cargo, even if they sailed out empty ships , and there’s no telling where it can be driven.

Seeing that Davis was speechless for a moment, Lin Zhichao knew that he had guessed correctly. Fortunately, he had done a lot of homework in the past six months.

"Since Manager Davis is not sincere in doing our business, then we are leaving!" Lin Zhichao stood up and prepared to leave.

At this time, Davis paid more attention to Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu as customers, and immediately blurted out: "Singdao Neptune Shipping has a 1,300-ton ship to sell, and I will give you the information!"

Lin Zhichao felt happy and gave Li Gaofu a look.

Li Gaofu seemed to understand, and the two returned to their seats again.

When Davis took out the information, Lin Zhichao deliberately refused to answer it, while Li Gaofu took the initiative.

Davis didn't notice anything unusual. He handed over the information seriously this time and his expression was very sincere!

After Li Gaofu glanced at the information for a few times, he immediately said: "Mr. Davis, this ship is too old. It is 31 years old and is not suitable for us. After all, it can't even pass the inspection at the port. So I'm sorry, we won't do it again." Go look elsewhere.”

Immediately, Li Gaofu stood up, and Lin Zhichao pretended to be still angry, so he naturally got up as well, and they both left at the same time.

"Damn! Waste of my time!" Davis yelled angrily as soon as the two left the door.

Walking on the road, Lin Zhichao and Li Gaofu said at the same time: "Sing Tao Neptune Shipping"

Immediately, the two of them laughed!

Lin Zhichao asked: "What does the information say?"

Li Gaofu immediately said seriously: "A 1,300-ton cargo ship, an old ship that was docked in 1918, is a very good second-hand ship. The quotation is only 880,000, but this price is quoted by the brokerage company. I believe the shipping company only needs 800,000 Hong Kong dollars." .”

Lin Zhichao nodded, thirty years old is not a bad thing, even a forty year old boat can be used for running. Hong Kong's shipping and Chinese shipping are still in their infancy. As long as they can run, it doesn't matter how old they are.

"In this way, let's leave Feixing Island, then meet up, and then come and talk." Lin Zhichao said decisively.

"Okay" Li Gaofu said immediately.

Why fly separately? The answer is self-evident!

Although it was unethical to bypass the agency this time, it was Davis who was at fault in the first place. What's more, shopping malls are like battlefields. When it's time to save, you have to save.

Three days later, Li Gaofu and Lin Zhichao met at Xingdao and came to Neptune Shipping headquarters.

This shipping company was very good in later generations. It was nationalized by Singapore in the late 1960s. In the 1970s, it became a large container shipping company. It was later sold to France's CMA CGM (the world's third container company).

The two were carrying a suitcase with $200,000 in it.

Because Lin Zhichao, Li Gaofu and others agreed that the purchase of ships should be paid in U.S. dollars. In the future, they will also pay in U.S. dollars when buying back ships. The reason is that the U.S. dollar maintains its value. In itself, foreign currency will be used to purchase ships overseas, so Lin Zhichao's requirements are not excessive.

As for their redemption next year, Lin Zhichao believes that in the era of 'every ship has a money printing machine', Li Gaofu's partners will not have any objections.

It was not easy for the two of them to finally find the supervisor in charge of this matter. He was still a foreigner, which made them feel depressed.

Lin Zhichao still had to bite the bullet and explain his intention.

As expected, the foreign manager Ferro said directly: "I already understand the purpose of your visit, but our company only deals with ship brokers, and all ships are handled by ship brokers."

Although it was a rejection, the tone was very formal and not arrogant.

At this time, Lin Zhichao placed the suitcase on Ferro's desk and said: "Mr. Ferro, please allow me to tell you the reason for this matter. Will you feel relieved if you hand over the ship to such a ship broker?"

Then, he opened the suitcase directly and said: "Here is 200,000 US dollars. It is the dream of two young people to start a business. We are eager for the sea. I know that Britain relies on ships to become the world's hegemon. So, we are very eager to get this excellent ship." Boat."

First he explains why he skipped the intermediary, then he talks about young people’s dreams, and finally he praises Britain as the world’s hegemon;

After some operations, Ferro's expression suddenly softened, then softened, and finally relaxed.

"No wonder, I said that the ship has been handed over to the ship broker for a while, why hasn't it been sold? It turns out to be this reason." Ferro said.

Then he added: "200,000 US dollars is exactly our price. Since you young people have dreams, I will not trample on your dreams and seal the deal at this price."

In fact, Ferro also wanted to sell this old boat as soon as possible. Lin Zhichao's remarks just now were only part of the reason.

"Thank you so much Mr. Ferro!"

"Thank you Mr. Ferro!"

Next, Lin Zhichao took the opportunity to make a new request: "Mr. Ferro, we are still new to shipping, so we would like to ask your company to overhaul and refresh the hull before delivering it to us."

The Hong Kong government's port regulations require that ships must enter the dock for inspection once a year. If the maintenance staff has completed the inspection before entering the dock, the original 14-day stay in the dock can be shortened to 7 days.

At the same time, Lin Zhichao's request can be regarded as a "give a maintenance service" and give him peace of mind.

Ferro was already impressed by Lin Zhichao's dream, so he readily agreed: "No problem!"

Next, things went smoothly and the transaction was officially completed soon.

The ship will return to Hong Kong (Xingdao) in about seven days, plus seven days for maintenance and refresh, and it can sail towards Hong Kong in half a month.

As for the captain and crew, Hong Kong can organize them quickly because they are well prepared.

Therefore, when the ship arrives in Hong Kong, it can immediately collect goods.

at the same time.

Ship broker Davis received a call from Neptune Shipping and was told that all second-hand ships for sale had been sold out.

"SHIT, which ship broker is so powerful!"

Davis said to himself angrily.

On the phone, Ferro's tone was calm, so Davis didn't notice anything unusual.

But when Davis asked if there were any old boats left, Ferro said no.

"It's all those two bastards' fault, why didn't they buy it earlier! It's really a pipe dream to get into the shipping industry."

"They also say they look down on old boats that are thirty years old. Haha, even forty-year-old boats are considered treasures by these Chinese people."

"Poor guy!"

After cursing for a while, Davis finally calmed down. He had lost an important customer and it was time for him to find another way to make a living.

"I have to seize the opportunity to find someone to take advantage of and sell that ship built during World War II. In this way, I can make a profit of HK$250,000, which is more cost-effective than selling several ships."

Davis now has almost all the information on this ship. If he cannot sell it, he may lose his job.

Saturday, June 11th.

Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan.

The second factory of Cheung Kong Industrial was officially completed. This factory is three stories high, with each floor covering an area of ​​30,000 square meters, which is quite spacious.

"Each department will first be moved to the third floor, and 10,000 square feet will be allocated as office rooms and R\u0026D rooms." Lin Zhichao said to the management behind him.

As for the production workshop, it cannot be relocated yet because it will affect production.

It is most appropriate to relocate only after the factory in Xingdao is put into use (expected to be by the end of the year).

"Okay, we'll get ready right away." Wang Liang took the lead and said.

At this time, he had a strong sense of the great development prospects of Yangtze River Industries. Being able to become the deputy general manager of such an outstanding company was a meteoric rise.

"Manager Sun, your R\u0026D department is very important. The company will do its best to provide you with R\u0026D funds and various conditions. I hope you can come up with better technology and conduct in-depth research and development of the entire zipper industry."

"Well, we will work hard!"

Sun Tao from the R\u0026D Department is a top student from the Mainland who came to Hong Kong. He was originally an engineer at a Shanghai Machinery Factory, but now he is making the best use of his talents. Even Sun Tao himself was very surprised that there was such a modern and mechanized factory in Hong Kong, and the boss was even more impressive.

There are many zipper technologies, and the various applicable zipper types are also different, such as tents, large bags, bedding, diving and other multi-purpose uses.

At present, Yangtze River Industrial's R\u0026D department does not have the strength to conduct "non-metal" tests on zipper materials. However, Lin Zhichao will slowly expand this department, and in the later stage, he can actually develop zipper-related machinery, zipper materials, special zippers, etc.

Lin Zhichao couldn't help but feel proud when he visited his industrial empire.

At present, the entire Yangtze River Industry covers an area of ​​more than 240,000 square feet. It currently has two factories with a total floor area of ​​120,000 square feet. At the same time, the employee dormitories (wooden houses) have been demolished and a dozen iron-clad houses have been built. room for management and their families.

In this way, the management can work wholeheartedly for the company without affecting the factory environment.

"Manager Hu, how is the situation at RB?" Lin Zhichao asked Hu Chengdong from the marketing department.

At this time, the marketing team of Yangtze Business Group was also greatly strengthened. The global zipper market was divided into four large markets: Europe, America, RB, and Southeast Asia, with one office in each.

This office must not only manage local sales, but also understand local after-sales, competitors, etc. In this era, daring to set up offices abroad is undoubtedly the exclusive preserve of large enterprises.

Cheung Kong Industrial has an annual output value of more than 15 million, an annual gross profit of more than 3 million, and 500 employees (high added value and mechanization), so it can naturally be regarded as a large enterprise.

Hu Chengdong immediately said: "The market price of Japan's YR (English abbreviation of Yangtze River) zippers is generally about 0.8 to 0.9 Hong Kong dollars. The quality is high, so it is very popular in the Japanese market. Our local rival YKK zippers can only sell them at the same price. At the same time, the zippers produced by our machines are of better quality. Therefore, we occupy 40% of the Japanese market, while YKK zippers are estimated to only have more than 20% of the market."

He often travels to foreign markets, so he understands it very well and can talk about it easily.

Lin Zhichao said with satisfaction: "Not bad! I regard the RB zipper industry as the biggest competitor, because their industrial level is very high, it is easy to imitate better zipper machines, and labor is much cheaper than in Europe and the United States. However, we adopt a low The price strategy will delay the development of their zipper industry. This is the pressure we should always maintain. Therefore, you must urge the major agents to make small profits but quick turnover."

The cost of one meter of aluminum alloy zipper is less than HKD 2. Cheung Kong Industries offers major Japanese agents a wholesale price of HKD 2.5~2.6 per meter (HKD 0.5~0.52 per piece); while Japanese agents only need to pay customs duties, freight, etc. The retail price of 0.8~0.9 Hong Kong dollars is still a good profit.

The cost of YKK zippers is 50% higher, mainly due to machine efficiency, material procurement and other reasons;

Therefore, Cheung Kong's low-price strategy has given YKK zippers a lot of trouble.

To put it simply, let Cheung Kong Industrial make a lot of money for two or three years first, and then everyone can compete! Of course, as the times advance, the zipper market is growing significantly every year.

at the same time.

Tadao Yoshida finally invited Matsushima from Hitachi Machinery again. This time his strength was more stable and he had more understanding of zipper machines.

Although the development of YKK zippers has not been rapid in the past six months, it has at least made a lot of money with its automatic rice arranging machine, and its business has stabilized.

"President Matsushima, these are some of my opinions on the improvement of zipper rice arranging machines and slider automatic punching machines. As long as Hitachi Machinery Factory is willing to cooperate, we will order at least 80 rice arranging machines and 30 slider units from your factory in the future. Automatic stamping machinery.”

Songdao took the information, glanced at it casually, and said: "Cooperation is not a problem at first, but I have learned that there is Changjiang Industrial Co., Ltd. in Hong Kong. They have taken the lead in using an improved rice rowing machine with a speed of 4,000 rpm. Cooperation from German machinery factories. I am confident that we can develop the same or even better machines; however, I am still not optimistic about the strength of YKK zippers."

Tadao Yoshida was shocked and said quickly: "President Matsushima, our YKK is the largest zipper factory in Japan, and I have been involved in this industry since the 1930s."

Songdao smiled inwardly, and then said: "What I'm talking about is that Yangtze River Industrial has various advantages. I'm worried that they will defeat YKK in the future, and you won't be able to bring us a large number of machinery orders. At the same time, we also have to face Germany Competition from machine shops. So the risk is high unless”

"Unless what?" Tadao Yoshida asked immediately.

Songdao immediately said: "Unless YKK Zipper can accept our investment, which only requires 40% of the shares, we will fully support your plan and immediately invest in research and development."

At this time, when Tadao Yoshida came to Hitachi Machinery Factory in his previous life, he already owned several automatic zipper machines and monopolized the Japanese market, with no competitors in Asia.

Now, Songdao thinks it is a risk. If Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Industries has a huge impact on YKK zippers with its one-step ahead, Hitachi Machinery may not be able to get as many orders as it wants.

The risk made Matsushima decide to seek greater benefits.

Tadao Yoshida was ready to go, and without much hesitation, he agreed to Matsushima's request.

In his mind, realizing his ambitions was a higher priority than losing 40% of his shares.

"Okay, we will immediately arrange to strengthen cooperation. I promise that within one year, we will come up with the latest machinery, which will be better than the German ones."

"Yes, we want to be the most powerful industrial empire in the world."